ANKARA, October 12. /TASS/. The legislative framework for the market functioning of the electronic gas trading platform in Turkey is not yet ready, a source in parliamentary circles in Ankara told TASS.
"The project of an electronic gas trading platform in Turkey in the current geopolitical conditions is beneficial to both Turkey and Russia in many respects and is realistic. Moreover, work in the field has been going on for some time. But it must be said that for the full functioning of such a platform in an international market in Turkey, the legislative framework is not yet ready, and this is a serious amount of work," the source said.
He also did not rule out that the parliament of the republic "may begin preparing and discussing" some amendments necessary for the implementation of the trading platform project.
On Wednesday, speaking at a plenary session of the Russian Energy Week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the gas hub project in Turkey at the first stage primarily involves the creation of an electronic platform for trading gas to Europe. Turkey, as well as everyone in Europe who wants to acquire Russian resources, are interested in this project, as he pointed out.
About gas hub
In October 2022, Putin proposed creating the largest gas hub in Europe in Turkey and redirecting the volume of gas, the transit of which is no longer possible through the Nord Stream, to this hub.
The Turkish side noted that almost everything is ready in terms of infrastructure for the implementation of the hub project, but it is necessary to amend the legislation. The first legislative decisions were made in early April and concerned the activities of the Turkish oil and gas company Botas and a number of other suppliers. Speaking on September 4 in Sochi following negotiations with Erdogan, Putin said that Gazprom had handed over to the Turkish state-owned company Botas a draft roadmap for the creation of a gas hub in Trakya. He noted that the establishment of a joint working group is on the agenda.
TASS is the information partner of the Russian Energy Week.